Volunteers with Action in Recovery work with local officials placing roof panels on a new pavilion in Rotary Park in the city's Island neighborhood Saturday. The shelter will also have a cement floor, six picnic tables and dusk-to-dawn lights when completed in the spring.

Municipal officials and a number of recovering addicts laughed and worked together in the freezing temperatures Saturday morning as they volunteered to install a roof on a park shelter.

The group of about 10 led by Butler Township Commissioner Sam Zurzolo, placed a couple dozen sheets of green metal on the roof of the new 24-by-36 shelter in Rotary Park in the city's Island neighborhood.

Zurzolo, who has overseen many volunteer projects in various parks supported by Rotary clubs, said the picnic shelter also will have a cement floor, six picnic tables and dusk-to-dawn lights when completed in the spring.

Zurzolo is quick to deflect any credit for the project, pointing instead to Dan Parr of P&W Construction and auto dealer Dennis Baglier.

“Denny puts a lot of time and a lot of his own money into (Rotary projects),” Zurzolo said. “He's a very dedicated individual.”

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Zurzolo also oversaw the project to add a regulation basketball court at Rotary Park, which was completed recently. He said the two projects cost upward of $50,000, and all of it was donated.

“The Rotary clubs and the good citizens of Butler County dedicated time and money to keep kids off the street,” Zurzolo said. “It's a total community effort.”

Jason Beckwith of Action in Recovery said the shelter will give kids in the neighborhood a place to hang out.

“It's another positive thing in Butler County,” Beckwith said.

About five other members of Action in Recovery volunteered at the roof-raising, which Beckwith said kicks off the group's volunteer season.

“It's not the I and me, it's the us and we,” Beckwith said of the importance of recovering addicts volunteering in the community.

He said he was glad to see so many neon green Action in Recovery T-shirts on Saturday morning, as participants worked together to hand the sharp sheets of metal up to Butler Township building inspector and project volunteer Jim Sproat.

“This is groups of people coming together for one cause to better Butler County for all residents,” he said.